This may be unfortunately, one of the worst movies I have seen by far. It was long, boring, and drawn out, only for it to have one of the worst endings known to man. I only gave it another star because of the music and choreography. The movie was appealing to watch but that's all I can say was good about it. Being unfamiliar with Brazilian culture (it being something I hope to further investigate) I can only hope Rudy Mancuso accurately represented it.
The plot started out strong but quickly began to falter. Rudy is a terrible protagonist and it feels almost as if he is attempting to make the audience pity him because of his synesthesia. Anwar contributed nothing to the story and only served as the comic relief in the background. His character not existing would not have changed anything about the story and only made the movie longer and unbearable. Isabella was likable for most of the movie and I initially supported her decision of wanting nothing to do with Rudy. It was when he became more famous she came back to him which was something I was completely flabbergasted by. Haley's character was annoying and generally unpleasant which I feel does not require further elaboration.
It was a story told through so many different people from all backgrounds. Música was no different from those and I believe labeling the movie as 'coming of age' was far from what it actually was. Rudy faced his challenge of distraction his entire life and didn't overcome it. There was no character development from anyone except from Rudy's mom, who only calmed down about his love life after he became more successful in his puppeteering career. Música was cliche, poorly written and badly scripted. Some scenes were beautiful to watch, for example, when Rudy was balancing his social life between Haley and Isabella. However, 7 minutes of that could not make up for the hour and twenty minutes I wasted over this movie.
Rudy Mancuso, I leave you with one piece of advice, stick to music. Directing ain't your thing.